These Aston Villa flops are in spotlight after Xia calls them out

Aston Villa have suffered yet another humiliating defeat, words which have echoed around the 1982 European Champions for more than a few years now.

The Championship side were beaten 3-1 at the hands of League Two Luton in the EFL cup on Wednesday night as manager Roberto Di Matteo was left shellshocked by his sides performance.

It meant the five-time League cup winners were knocked out of the first round of the competition for the first time in their history, as yet another unwanted record is broken by the club following relegation last season.

Villa owner Tony Xia could not hide his anger at the aftermath of the club’s defeat to the fourth tier side as the Chinese Tycoon claimed “some players are not worth being given [a] chance.”

Who are the players Xia may be talking about? And which players underperformed for the club on Wednesday night?

One player supporters will lambast is ex-captain Micah Richards, who continually failed to control the ball and was out of position on numerous occasions.

Richards has a reported £5million release clause in his contract, and was one of a number of players criticised last term, but Di Matteo has revealed he is part of his plans for the upcoming campaign.

Centre-back Jores Okore produced the most calamitous performance of the night after a comical own goal gifted Luton their desisive third.

Okore, along with Richards was playing his first competitive game under Di Matteo, and many fans will be now hoping it will be their last game for the club.

Left-back Jordan Amavi was another who underperformed on the night, as he was to blame for his side’s first goal with the Frenchman out of position as Jake Gray equalised.

However, he will more than likely be forgiven by fans as he made his first competitive start since returning from a long-term knee injury.

Academy graduate Gary Gardner misplaced passes and was unable to gain control of the midfield, the same issues he had during the 1-0 Championship defeat at Sheffield Wednesday.

However, the issue stems from many years before Luton, with players such as Leandro Bacuna, Joleon Lescott, Gabby Agbonlahor, Ally Cissokho and Ashley Westwood all either underperforming or not showing enough fight, as supporters hope they head for the exit door.

Di Matteo now faces a bigger task than he first imagined as the club now face the Villa Park crowd on Saturday afternoon against Rotherham.